Rooted in Mission: The Welsh Academy and the Enduring Legacy of Fr. Robert J. Welsh, S.J. ’54

On a warm May afternoon, young men nervously checked their ties, some asking a teacher or counselor for help. The Welsh Academy alumni anxiously waited backstage, preparing to walk across the Cleveland Public Auditorium stage to receive their diplomas as members of the Saint Ignatius Class of 2026.

Graduating from Saint Ignatius is the pinnacle of a seven-year journey that began in August 2019. It also marks a beginning for the young men, who walked off the stage into a future bright with possibilities. 

“When you step into The Welsh Academy, you hear talk about being a Man for Others, but you don’t know what that means because you are still a boy,” says Siba Beavogui ’26/WA’22. “But when you get to Saint Ignatius, you start to understand the qualities of what being a Man for Others means, and it transforms you as a person. You learn to be there for the people that you know and love. And when I go outside into the world, being a Man for Others means standing up and having a voice for people that need it most.”

Watching the inaugural class of Welsh Academy graduates receive their Saint Ignatius diplomas would have been a huge source of pride for the late Fr. Robert J. Welsh, S.J. ’54. When he was President of Saint Ignatius, he envisioned a middle school for boys of modest economic means in Cleveland. In the early 1990s, he shared that dream over dinner with the Jesuit seminarians. Among them was Fr. Raymond P. Guiao, S.J. ’82 (then Mr. Guiao, S.J., a Jesuit scholastic), who—decades later—would become the school’s President and Chief Mission Officer. Fr. Guiao would make building that middle school his top apostolic priority. After decades of hope and preparation, the dream finally became a reality.

Fr. Guiao remembers the morning in 2018 when he and Fr. Dan Dixon, S.J., then a Jesuit scholastic seminarian, made the three-hour drive to the Colombiere Retreat Center in Clarkston, Michigan, to see Fr. Welsh. The night before, the Board of Regents had approved a plan to establish the middle school at Saint Ignatius High School, and the two Jesuits wanted to share the exciting news in person with Fr. Welsh. Fr. Dixon had been working behind the scenes, conducting a feasibility study on a middle school for Saint Ignatius. 

Asked what Fr. Welsh would have thought watching these Welsh Academy pioneers graduate from Saint Ignatius, Fr. Guiao is overcome with emotion. “He would have been terribly proud,” he says, welling up. “I’m sure he is our biggest heavenly cheerleader.“

While the middle school at Saint Ignatius was a dream for Fr. Welsh, it also represented hope for a better future for the families who would entrust their sons’ education and formation to a school that hadn’t yet been built. 

Fr. Guiao was confident The Welsh Academy would be successful: “When Saint Ignatius High School was built in the mid-1880’s, it was to be a school that would provide opportunities for the sons of poor German and Irish immigrants in the area who wanted a good education and opportunity for their sons. Fourteen decades later, the model for The Welsh Academy was similar in that it would provide an education for young men from families of modest economic means in the Cleveland area.” 

 But there was work to be done. This included finding the right person to lead the school. This person turned out to be Dr. Mary Ann Vogel, an experienced educator. Fr. Guiao knew Dr. Vogel and her reputation as a strong leader and innovator. Dr. Vogel was hired and began forming the initial core team of educators: Kim Brandt, Dierre Cody, Mike Murphy ’09, and Maggie Pena. The Welsh Academy team went straight to work building the curriculum and schedule with support from key Saint Ignatius High School faculty members. 

According to Murphy, “I was working at the Nativity School in Boston, and heard whispers that Saint Ignatius was trying to build a similar school, and I knew I wanted to be part of it.” As an alumnus of Saint Ignatius, he knew the opportunities that lay ahead for these young men if they were admitted to the school.  

“It has been a wild ride!” says Brandt with a big smile. She had been at another school for 18 years when she saw an interview on TV in which Dr. Vogel discussed plans for The Welsh Academy. The words spoke to her heart. “The Welsh Academy represents the type of education that I think every child deserves!” The academy was a rare opportunity to start something new, and she wanted to be a part of that. Brandt says the team worked to create sustainable systems and activities for the school. 

The 2022 graduation of that first group of Welsh Academy eighth-graders was a significant milestone for the educators, who saw it as a sign that they were on the right track. “We recognized the boys’ potential when they first started at The Welsh Academy, and it was special to see them reach this important moment. Not only was it wonderful to see the excitement on the faces of the graduates, but also the joy from their families and the Saint Ignatius community,” Brandt adds.  

As the Academy expanded, faculty and staff were added to support the growing student community, including current team members Erin Conway, Pamela Downs, Michelle Gibson, Gerard Hall, Ryan Hough, and Christina Palmer. The teachers shared a vision of helping young men reach their potential. The dedication of the faculty and staff has resonated with families, including Tenin Beavogui, Siba's mother.

Tenin speaks softly and chooses her words carefully. But she is passionate about The Welsh Academy and wants to ensure the full impact of her words is heard. “The Welsh Academy taught Siba to be a real man,” she says thoughtfully. 

She became aware of The Welsh Academy when her pastor from St. Colman parish told her that Saint Ignatius was going to start a middle school and was looking for bright young men with potential. Tenin’s goal was to get Siba into a good school to open opportunities for his future. She praises The Welsh Academy staff for their support, describing them as a second family to her son. 

“It was very special that Siba could attend a school like The Welsh Academy and Saint Ignatius,  Tenin says. “At the Welsh Academy, Siba learned how to make good decisions in life, and I had peace of mind knowing that he was bonding with his classmates.” Tenin has high hopes for Siba’s future, saying with a smile, “Graduation from Saint Ignatius is just the beginning for Siba. I will celebrate after he earns his Master's Degree in college.”

Siba reflects fondly on those first few years as a student at the Academy. “Mr. Murphy was a good mentor,’’ he says. “He taught me the importance of literature and reading, and to value what is important in life, and to respect others. Mr. Cody was also a good role model whom all of us wanted to emulate.” Siba also appreciated the small class sizes because they helped develop a feeling of brotherhood among his classmates. 

Saint Ignatius has been a safe space for Siba, and spending three additional years on campus as a Welsh Academy student helped him build strong connections with the high school's faculty and staff. Siba says his junior year retreat was a pivotal moment in his formation. “I chose to go on the Ignatian service retreat,’’ he says, “and it was one of the moments where I really got to experience how to be a Man for Others, because we were outside giving people who were less fortunate or homeless food, and really listening to their stories.”

After graduation, Siba plans to study Mechanical Engineering in college. He wants to continue working in the community to help people in need, carrying forward lessons he learned at The Welsh Academy and Saint Ignatius.

Classmate Jonathan (Jay) Feliciano ’26/WA’22 says the Welsh Academy faculty was instrumental in his growth. “Our teachers were role models for us,” he says. In those early days, classes were held in small rooms in the high school, which helped him stay focused. Dierre Cody taught him life lessons in patience and in assessing situations before reacting—skills he found invaluable in high school. Jay also learned how to communicate effectively with his teachers, giving him the confidence and skills he needed to succeed. He credits Murphy for introducing him to some of his favorite books. “Being given the opportunity to attend The Welsh Academy has been amazing!” Jay says. 

During his years at The Welsh Academy, Jay had strong interpersonal relationships with his teachers, which was a welcome change for him. His seven years on the Saint Ignatius campus allowed him to meet a variety of people and strengthen his relationships within the Saint Ignatius community. Over time, he developed a genuine sense of family and connection with others. 

Jay’s proudest moment as a “Welshcat” was getting accepted into Saint Ignatius, and he feels blessed to have completed four years at the high school. “The Welsh Academy gave me the guidelines and stepping stones to make it through my four years at Saint Ignatius,” he says. He plans to attend Cleveland State University to study Counseling and Psychology, following in Cody's footsteps. He wants to have a career that involves building relationships with people. 

Omyra Colon, Jay’s mom, learned about The Welsh Academy at her parish, La Sagrada Familia Church. She was excited to hear about the strong curriculum, programming, and opportunities the new middle school would offer. She knew that Saint Ignatius was an excellent college preparatory school and that the education her son would receive at The Welsh Academy would prepare him for high school in a way his former middle school could not. “After talking to Dr. Vogel and the other teachers, I knew this would be a different level of learning and that it would help prepare Jay for Saint Ignatius.

“The Welsh Academy gives kids from the inner-city a special opportunity and an amazing education in the city of Cleveland, one that includes a reliable support system ensuring that the students will thrive.” Omyra credits Cody for guiding Jay’s emotional growth during the transition to high school. Since the Academy and Saint Ignatius High School were on the same campus, she says her son felt comfortable going back and forth between the schools. She believes the proximity of the high school motivated the Welsh Academy students to apply to Saint Ignatius. She is proud of Jay for his resilience and for graduating from Saint Ignatius. She is excited to see how he grows and develops as a man using the tools he has gained in middle school and high school.

Dr. Vogel is at the nexus of The Welsh Academy’s success. Before getting hired to lead the school, she had conversations with Fr. Dixon (then a Jesuit scholastic). At the time, he was working on the feasibility study, and Dr. Vogel was working at a charter school. They had a candid conversation about what it would take to make a school like The Welsh Academy successful. 

What spoke to Dr. Vogel’s heart about The Welsh Academy was its commitment to reaching young boys early—preparing them for acceptance into an elite high school like Saint Ignatius, particularly in a faith-based setting. Drawing on her years in urban education, Dr. Vogel understood the challenges the students faced. She also knew that the Jesuits would be prepared to meet that challenge thanks to their long history of educating boys. 

Dr. Vogel recognized that the mission of the high school, indeed that of St. Ignatius of Loyola himself, was to educate young men. “The concept of young adolescent boys learning in a single gender, faith-based environment opens space for us to help them develop the foundations of their holistic selves. Doing all of this on a high school campus, such as Saint Ignatius, would allow the young men to see where they were going in the future. And with the brotherhood of Saint Ignatius alumni, our boys would be connected to this larger brotherhood,” she shares. 

Fr. Guiao is as committed to The Welsh Academy's vision as Fr. Welsh himself was. "It's very important for the high school to have taken this step to build The Welsh Academy—it is who we are," he says. "Schools can easily become unmoored from their original mission and culture. The Academy brought us back to our roots. This is about forming young men, transforming young lives. It's what Jesuits worldwide do: walk with young people, especially those on the margins who have dreams but lack the means to achieve them. It's who we are, it's what we do."

Fr. Guiao reflects on the courage of the Welsh Academy founding families: “These are the young men who took a chance. Living life is largely about taking responsible risks—we're never guaranteed anything. These young men and their families said, ‘The Welsh Academy is still in the idea stage. You don't have a building yet, but you do have a beautiful campus and teachers. Okay, that's enough for us." He continues, "These families knew that we had faith in them. Dr. Vogel and those first teachers had faith in them. And that was enough for them to take that leap of faith—this risk for their sons. These young men were very brave, though they didn't realize it at the time!"

“It was courageous for them to say ‘yes’ to something that didn't even exist yet. Here were families and boys who said, ‘I want something better,’ and they were willing to throw their hat in the ring and be those leaders,” adds Dr. Vogel.  

Fr. Dixon is the newly named President of The University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy. He echoes the joy in what these young men have achieved: “I am filled with pride and admiration when thinking about our first class of Welsh Wildcats. As Dr. Vogel has often said, they are trailblazers. Along with their families, they took a chance on a school that was little more than a dream. A school that didn't even have a building that first year! Seven years later, seeing these boys graduate fills me with what St. Ignatius of Loyola called ‘holy consolation’ Over these past seven years, they have grown from adolescent boys into young Men for Others, well prepared to succeed in college and life. I am grateful to God for their trust in us and their courage to take a risk.”

As graduates, these young men demonstrate maturity and confidence. They now serve as role models to the generations of Welshcats who will follow in their footsteps. 

This story originally appeared in the Spring 2026 Saint Ignatius magazine. You can read the full issue here.